Trawl Ban Extension Suggested in Kerala

INDIA - An extension of the trawl ban, which takes place during the monsoon season, to 75 days has been suggested in order to give fish more time to re-spawn.

The mechanised sector had been opposing the ban in Kerala since its introduction 25 years ago, reports TheHindu.

In the traditional sector, the committee felt that a 60-day-long ban on fishing using ringsein nets during the peak spawning period of April and May was required for conserving the pelagic spawning stock.

Pelagic species, including oil sardines, mackerel and anchovy, constitute around 70 per cent of the annual landings in the State.

The panel, which analysed the fishery data of 25 years of pre-and-post ban periods using a statistical model, reported that the “benefit of the trawl ban in terms of yield and value” had sustained only for nine years after its introduction. The yield and value of resources netted by the mechanised sector had dropped since 2000, it said.

The panel has also prescribed cash benefits for fishermen during fishing holidays and sops for those following sustainable fishing.

The panel was headed by K. Sunil Muhammed, head of the Molluscan Fisheries Division of the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi; had T.V. Sathianandan, principal scientist of the institute;, M.V. Baiju and P. Praveen, senior scientists of the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, Kochi; P.S. Sivaprasad, technical expert from the fisheries department; P. Sahadevan, executive director, Fisheries Resources Management Society; and officials of the State Fisheries department as its members.